The second year of indoor track has seen such an uptick in participation for the Panthers that the athletes are spreading out all over town.

“We have 43 kids out, which is up 10 from last year,” coach Scott Smith said. “It has caused some issues with practice facilities as we are using the high school, middle school and Parkside/Westside elementaries for different workouts, but the kids are working hard and looking good so far.”

Last year the girl’s team finished ninth and the boys finished seventh at the state meet, competing in the first year of official 3A indoor track after classifications had been combined in years’ prior.

Powell returns experience on both sides, with Kinley Cooley  placing in the 1600 and 3200 meter races last season, alongside Katie O’Brien who placed in the shot put for the girls.

On the boys’ side the lone returning placer is Stuart Shoopman who placed in the 55 meter hurdles.

The girls will have additional experience on the roster this season, as they will have several returning sprinters from relays and additional distance runners from the state champion cross country team.

The boys will add Isaiah Woyak to the roster who was the state champion in outdoor in triple jump and finished runner-up in the high jump. The team also has some prior experience in sprints and distance.

“There are some kids that are going to compete for top place on the medal stand, but overall we probably aren’t deep enough on either the boys or girls to overcome a team like Cody with 84 kids out,” Smith said.

He said that overall the team is emphasizing technique and conditioning in the early stages of the season, hoping to establish a base in the first meet this weekend.

With indoor track being an individualized sport Smith said that the Panthers are focused on improvement, while also looking forward to the spring seasons that follow.

“We really focus on improving in all ways,” Smith said. “Even though indoor is a stand-alone sport, our major goal is to get kids prepared to start out their spring sports with a good conditioning base and have increased their speed, explosiveness and/or agility.”

Over the past week the team has been dealing with frigid temperatures which has kept them practicing in the halls around Powell, but potentially getting out on the track as soon as next week with temperatures improving.

That will come after the first meet of the season, heading to Gillette on Saturday to take part in an invitational.

The Panthers will have four opportunities to prove themselves on the track this season, all in Gillette over the next month, before competing in the state meet in Gillette the first weekend of March.